Paul Crowther (philosopher)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Paul Crowther (; born 24 August 1953) is a British philosopher. He is a professor of
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and author specialising in the fields of
aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...
,
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
, and
visual culture Visual culture is the aspect of culture expressed in visual images. Many academic fields study this subject, including cultural studies, art history, critical theory, philosophy, media studies, Deaf Studies, and anthropology. The field of vi ...
. He has written nine books in the field of History of Art and Philosophy. He was born in
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
,
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...
, England, and he was raised in the Belle Isle estate,
Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...
, and Middleton areas of south Leeds. He began taking an interest in art and philosophy at the age of 16.Kernan Andrews (2010
'There's really no such thing as useless knowledge'
''Galway Advertiser'' 18 February 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
He is a proponent of an approach to aesthetics he dubbed " post-analytic phenomenology".


Career

Crowther initially enrolled at the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
to study history and politics. He subsequently migrated to the
University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...
where he took a joint honours degree in Philosophy and the History of Art.. He was a graduate student at the
University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
and also holds a teaching certificate in Classical Studies. He obtained his doctorate in philosophy from the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
. Crowther is a former fellow of
Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...
where he was a lecturer at the Department of the History of Art and Reader in the History Faculty. He has also taught at the University of St Andrew's (Fife, Scotland), the
University of Central Lancashire The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...
, and Jacobs University Bremen. Between 2009 and 2016, Crowther held the post of Chair of Philosophy at the
National University of Ireland, Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...
and subsequently has been emeritus professor of philosophy at the National University of Ireland, Galway. In May 2017 Crowther was elected as a member of the
Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
.


Philosophical work

Crowther's interests and expertise are in the fields of visual aesthetics,
phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839â ...
, and
Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 â€“ 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, et ...
. Works by him on the philosophy of visual art have been translated into Chinese, Korean, German, and Serbian, amongst other languages. In 2014, Crowther (together with Slovenian artist Mojca Oblak, and assistance from the Ministry of Culture of
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
and the Moore Institute in Galway, Ireland) organized an exhibition of Victorian art entitled ''Awakening Beauty'' at the National Gallery in Ljubljana, Slovenia.


Selected bibliography

*Crowther, Paul (2009). ''Phenomenology of the Visual Arts (even the frame)''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. *Crowther, Paul (2007). ''Defining Art, Creating the Canon: Artistic Value in an Era of Doubt''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. *Crowther, Paul (1997). ''The Language of Twentieth-Century Art: A Conceptual History''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. *Crowther, Paul (1993). ''Art and Embodiment: From Aesthetics to Self-Consciousness''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Altieri, Charles (1995). Review of Paul Crowther, vols 1 and 2 of Art and Embodiment. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 53 (1): 87-9. *Crowther, Paul (1989). ''The Kantian Sublime: From Morality to Art''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Mothersill, Mary (1992). Review of Paul Crowther, The Kantian Sublime: From Morality to Art. Mind 101: 156-160.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowther, Paul 1953 births Living people Academics of the University of Central Lancashire Academics of the University of Galway Academics of the University of St Andrews Academic staff of Jacobs University Bremen Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of York Alumni of the University of Oxford Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford People from Belle Isle, Leeds People from Hunslet 20th-century English philosophers 21st-century English philosophers English male non-fiction writers Members of the Royal Irish Academy British philosophers of art Metaphysicians Historians of the University of Oxford